Curious? well, Max, it killed the cat
by dooski
Summary: A simple search in Alec’s room becomes much more complicated and intense than Max ever intended…
1. It was Behind the Sofa the Whole Time

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Dark Angel or these characters!

**Setting: **before the Berrisford Agenda

**Pairing: **MA, no doubt!

**Genre**: Humor, Romance? …perchance!

_A simple search in Alec's room becomes much more complicated and intense than Max ever intended…_

**a/n**: we have here a Season 1 Max with the full Alec denial of... well, the whole show I guess!

* * *

**Chapter 1: It was Behind the Sofa the Whole Time**

Max had the sneaking suspicion that whatever she was about to find would only reaffirm her original assumptions that he was nothing more than a cocky, sarcastic, opportunistic show-off. The fact that what she was about to discover might change her opinion of him or make her re-think anything never even came close to crossing her mind. No, this was routine, nothing more. She wasn't checking for some kind of reassurance that she was right about him- she didn't need that. She was checking to one-up him, find out before he screwed up yet again. And whatever self-serving scheme he was planning to come clean off of this time, she was determined to undermine, not only so she could shove it in his annoying, cocky, Pretty Boy face, but so that she could prove to him that anything he thought he was so clever at, she could do better.

Why what Alec thought of her mattered wasn't a detail she was concerned with focusing on now or ever. All that mattered now was to figure it out before he knew what hit him.

She quickly glanced from side to side one more time, as if someone could have somehow surprised her. She had transgenic hearing, and she was focused and sure of herself. There was no way that anyone else was in the apartment.

Why was she so nervous then?

The truth was, there was more at stake this time. The humiliation of Alec somehow catching her as she rummaged through his apartment was enough to make her more cautious than normal. Not to mention, as a transgenic just like herself, he was more likely to catch her than your average, everyday prey.

She opened his dresser drawers with caution. Part of her certainly didn't want to know _what _was hidden away in there.

Her lips curled upward in a surprised and amused smile. She hadn't expected him to be so neat and tidy, right down to the careful folding of his boxers.

Max felt a rush of warmth come over her cheeks. _Now what am I doing blushing over Alec's underwear?!_ she thought, embarrassed even though no one could see her.

The moment of embarrassment only increased her determination to get what she'd come for. And apparently, it wasn't hiding in his underwear drawer.

_Where the hell is it?_ she thought with frustration as her heartbeat began to pick up. She'd heard him at work, going on about some ingenious plan of his to show up tomorrow with something 'she' couldn't resist. Whichever 'she' he was planning on manipulating this time, Max didn't care about. She just wanted to beat him to the punch. Nothing would satisfy her more than beating Alec at his own game.

She didn't waste any thought considering why her satisfaction was so controlled by Alec these days. Instead, she focused on her memory of what he'd said earlier, daring to hope that there was some clue she'd overlooked so far that might help her find it sooner.

Normally, she had a way of tuning out every annoying word that came out of his smirking mouth. But her ears couldn't help perking up earlier that day when she'd heard him mumbling something about 'doing whatever it takes' to 'get my prize'.

It had to be a bet. With Alec and the other guys at Jam Pony, it always was. And Alec had an uncanny way of always winning. His unchallenged, constant victories were almost more annoying than making the bets at the expense of others in the first place. Max was determined to watch him lose this one- even if it meant she had to stoop a bit to his level to do it.

Max didn't have to think hard to connect the dots about what was going this time. Obviously, as usual, he'd made some bet out of his ever expanding ego. Probably about stealing some expensive gift in hopes of nailing whoever the flavor of the week was. Which meant he was going to do the other usual- pull a heist.

Max eyed the table with one brow raised in dangerous curiosity. She really didn't have time to be wasting on pure snooping. There was a goal here, and being distracted with the unexpected was only hindering her plan.

Nonetheless, she couldn't help taking a moment to enjoy the luxury of being in his room completely alone. Her eyes scanned the place, a sudden burning curiosity coursing through her that wouldn't be denied.

Why of all times, _now, _she suddenly found Alec interesting enough to pry into was beyond her. _Must be the DNA_, she reasoned. _Curious like a cat_.

Resting atop the table was some sort of scribbling- a note. Max immediately ripped it off the table to inspect it further.

_What the hell is this?_ she wondered, hoping it was something revealing- which meant embarrassing- that she could bring up later.

As she eyed it further, she realized it was a list of some… _tips on getting girls? _she guessed, scanning a few of the lines scrawled on it. She noticed his writing was careful and cautious- so unlike his cocky, blunt personality at work. The words were written in an almost neat fashion- thin, and precise. She almost laughed, picturing Alec's true personality. He was far from under the radar, the way this writing was. His ego was so enormous, sometimes she wondered how it fit in the room he was standing in.

She read some of it in spite of the fact that she ought to be hurrying to find what she was looking for. _Oh, please!_ she thought with a tight frown, picturing all the guys at work worshiping his 'skills' with women. Was this his way of 'spreading the wealth'?

_Get to know her friends, help her out,…_ Max's eyebrow raised at one in particular. _Family_. That one word to Max meant the world.

But to Alec…

Clearly, it was just one more thing on his 'to-do' list for getting a girl. _What an ass_, she thought before the sound of her cell phone beeping brought her thoughts back to the plan.

_Logan,_ she read the name of the caller as her eyes rolled. _Now is _not _the time._ She quickly withdrew from the table and got back to scanning the place for what she had come for.

After a brief search of the main room, she let out a sigh of frustration. Her eyes fell upon his bedroom again. She _had _to have missed something in there. It only made sense that he'd keep it there.

She re-entered the room to do a more thorough search this time. He had to have blueprints around the room _somewhere_. The trick was finding his personal hiding place. For a fleeting moment, Max wished she'd paid more attention to him so she'd know where he might put an item that meant something to him, until her eyes rested upon a shadow looming on the wall in a dark corner of the room, partway underneath his bed.

_Bingo! _she thought with satisfaction as she crept closer to the spot. She brushed a dirty blanket aside to uncover the object she'd first noticed. Her eyes rolled in a twisted mixture of amusement and annoyance as she realized what she'd just found- a wooden box just underneath a crumpled picture of a girl.

_Typical, Alec!_ she chided him in her head, glancing at the predictable sight of his prized possessions laying right beneath a photo of some hot girl. He was such an accomplished flirt, it was a wonder why Manticore hadn't used him in high profile espionage. Surely, he would've been great at betraying the hearts of normally frugal women.

"_I took Common Verbal Usage when I got cleared for my solo missions," _he had told her.

"_Oh, you mean assassinations," _she'd smartly replied.

He'd made some comment about it just being a job. The memory made Max again roll her eyes. As usual, he held no responsibility for hurting anyone in his actions. Which only made her wonder the lengths he would go to, doing 'whatever it would take' to get his 'prize'.

_Either money for winning the bet, or some hot chick's devotion_, Max thought with disgust. _Probably both, _she added with annoyance. _Could he be any more predictable?_ she wondered, eyeing the photo again. _Bet his 'prize''ll be cuter than _you, she thought sarcastically as she stared at the snapshot.

Something about the picture struck Max as she took a second glance at it. Max knew she ought to be moving as fast as possible, open the box up and go. But a betraying curiosity froze her in place, and she couldn't help studying the photo.

It was her innocence. The girl looked beautiful, but young. And her brown eyes held a purity that Max couldn't help pouring into for a moment before the shock wore off.

A traitorous thought to her entire purpose of being there crept into the corners of her mind but wouldn't be ignored. _Why does Alec have a picture of an innocent girl in his bedroom?_

For a moment, she wondered if he was even more twisted than she'd originally thought- having some fantasy she didn't even want to think about that dealt with young, innocent girls.

But as she studied the picture further and took in its odd placement, she found herself doing the unthinkable as she stood in the middle of Alec's bedroom. She couldn't help second-guessing him as she tried to come up with a logical explanation as to why he would carry around a girl's picture like that.

_Just forget it, Max! _she told herself. She could worry about this later, or better yet, not at all. What did it matter that Alec had some girl's photo in such a treasured spot?

She eyed the box cautiously, wondering how she could open it without him ever noticing later. If he was so particular with his boxers, even the slightest misplacement would give away that someone had been messing with his stuff. _Then again, this was tucked away under his bed_. Which made her realize this couldn't be where the blueprints for tonight were.

Max couldn't believe she was hesitating about whether or not she should open the box. Earlier that day, she would have had no qualms about ripping it open and using whatever secrets were hidden there against him.

But for some reason, she was holding back.

It was respect. She didn't want to disrespect his privacy. Somehow, seeing that photo had caused her to have a change of heart. She felt like she was being too invasive all of a sudden.

And she was quickly losing the dedication to continue her search. She'd come up with nothing so far. She was losing interest and doubting her original assumption.

_Maybe he's not doing anything worse than beating them in a game of pool at Crash_, she thought with a sigh. It wasn't one of frustration this time, but of exhaustion.

She carefully placed the unopened box and photo back in their original places and prepared to leave.

_Damn. He wins again_, she thought, the annoyance sparking her determination again, but not enough to continue. So now he could smirk at her without even being in front of her!

_Geez, Max, _she scolded herself. She had to put some distance between herself and Alec after devoting her entire evening to him. She wondered if he had a phone around somewhere so she could call Logan back.

As she looked for a phone, her eyes lit up with success as she noticed a set of plans- _blueprints_- laying right in the middle of his apartment, on top of the TV.

_You have _got _to be kidding me!_ She couldn't believe that for a moment she had allowed herself to give up.

_Of course! _she thought as she picked them up. She'd been looking all this time for them to be in a hidden spot. It made more sense that he'd be confident enough, make that _foolish_ enough, to just leave them out in the open.

_Guess he wasn't expecting any visitors_, she thought with a satisfied grin as she quickly scanned the papers. She shook her head in disappointment as she saw the location. _Where is your originality, Alec?_ she thought with a sigh.

He was planning on hitting up a warehouse that was well-known to be the notorious location where more of the 'dirty' business that went on in Seattle took place. To be more specific, it was where all the black market items were stored- stolen human organs, usually. Sadly, they sold for a hefty profit.

_Looking to take off with the loot!_ she guessed before folding the papers back up and placing them on the table.

Max walked confidently to his door. _Guess this didn't turn out to be a waste of time after all! _she thought with a happy grin.

Just as she was about to turn the knob, she froze in place as she watched it turn by itself… from the other side.

_Oh shit!_ was the only thought that came to her as she realized that the bad situation she was really hoping to avoid was coming to catch her red-handed.

She watched in horror as the knob turned in what seemed like slow-motion, her thoughts racing as she tried to decide what she ought to do.

She leaned against the wall without thinking, hoping to hide in the shadows until he was distracted enough for her to sneak out.

The door opened and a whistling Alec entered the apartment while Max held her body tightly against the wall.

He tossed the keys to his bike carelessly on the table, the action causing the blueprints to fall to the floor.

Max rolled her eyes and tried not to let out an annoyed sigh in spite of her attempts to remain hidden. _He's such an idiot! _she thought to herself, eyeing the blueprints on the floor.

His whistling continued as he took off his jacket, tossing it not far from where Max was standing.

She swallowed cautiously, hoping he wasn't headed there next.

His scent was surrounding her now, with his jacket laying at her feet. The rugged scent made a flush creep over her cheeks, and she scowled in her mind that he had such an effect on her.

Max groaned inwardly at her circumstance. _I have got to get out of here!_

Alec took off his shirt next before departing to his bedroom. It was clear he was about to take a shower.

_Thank God! _Max thought to herself with relief as she moved quickly to leave.

Just as she touched the knob, however, the sound of Alec's feet coming back into the main room made her flinch, and she stood still, frozen in place.

She could feel his eyes on her, and she cringed as her fears were realized.

"Well, what do we have here?" Alec asked her, a satisfied smirk lighting up his features with the same intensity as the golden twinkle of amusement that sparkled in his hazel eyes. He'd caught her, and he knew it.

Max turned around slowly, preparing her face to be unreadable as she faced him. Her eyes widened at the sight of him standing there so naturally without a shirt on. The dim lighting of the room caused his muscles to gleam in all the right places.

Max wasn't sure if her face was flushed out of embarrassment at being caught or the surprise that the sight of his chest could bring her such satisfaction.

"Alec," she said lamely, unable to come up with anything else as she tried to think of an explanation that he would believe.

"What happened to all that talk of breaking and entering, Max?" he asked her, rubbing it in. As if she'd been expecting anything less, given the situation.

"About how it's wrong and immoral?" He paused to allow a dramatic smirk to slide across his face. "Have a change of heart?" he continued to tease her.

He turned toward his cupboard to pour himself a glass of scotch in the most normal fashion, as though having Max unexpectedly standing in his apartment while he was half naked wasn't even worth reacting to other than his usual minor teasing of her.

"What are you talking about?" she asked him in an annoyed voice.

Alec looked up to meet her stare again. His face read something along the lines of 'duh'. "Max, correct me if I'm wrong, but I didn't hear a knock." He gave her a cocky grin as he finished, "And I have pretty damn good hearing, if you didn't know. Something to do with my genetics."

"I just got here," she lied. "So I didn't feel like requesting entry. Big deal."

His stare questioned her for a moment before he shrugged in acceptance. "Whatever. I guess you could say I wasn't expecting this. Want a drink?" he offered with an encouraging grin.

Max eyed his stomach and arms awkwardly. "Can't you put a shirt on?" she snapped at him, wanting the uncomfortable feeling settling over her to leave immediately. It was distracting her from coming up with a good reason to explain her presence.

"So… no drink," he replied, completely ignoring her comment. He made a shrug before finishing his glass and pouring himself another.

"No thanks!" she snapped.

Alec laughed at her reactions. "Excuse me for not wearing a shirt in my own apartment! If you just walked in, I guess you didn't realize I was just about to hop in the shower."

"Well, don't stop on my account," she replied rudely, making a gesture that indicated he needed to anyway.

"Why'd you say you dropped in again?" he asked, fully aware that she hadn't mentioned it.

"I came by to talk to you," she lied to him.

Alec nodded before sighing in slight resistance. "Great. So what do you need?"

Max's lips parted in shock before she could think to not let on so much emotion. _What exactly is he implying? _she thought with a frown. Then she recalled his note, how it mentioned 'helping her out'. Was this some poor attempt at winning her devotion?

"Where are we going this time?" he continued. "Just please tell me it's not the sewers! Why is that _always _the hideout for them? Why can't they be layin' it low in a nice 5 star hotel?"

She felt momentary relief as she realized he'd assumed she needed some help tracking down another freed transgenic. "No…" she trailed, trying to think of what more she could say.

"I was just wondering if you knew any other places that they might be hiding out in."

Alec gave her a strange look.

"I mean," she continued, "you were there longer than me. I figured you might have a better idea where they would go. The transgenics."

Alec nodded. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "But I'm working on it."

Max's eyes widened in surprise. "You are?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," he answered. "In between stealing the hearts of women and winning boxing matches!"

Her eyes narrowed at him.

"It's a joke, Max!" he told her, amazed by how uptight she was. It was normal for her to walk around like she had a stick up her butt, but she was even more tense than normal for some reason.

"Loses a lot of the effect if you have to announce it," she blurted at him, again speaking without thinking. He had a way of unnerving her that irked her to no end. That her thoughts somehow slipped beyond her control irritated her, and she blamed him entirely.

He laughed slightly at the remark. "You sure you don't want a drink? You really sound like you could use one!"

"Thank goodness you offered _again_, Alec! Cuz it's not like I could go to Crash if all I wanted was a drink!" she snapped at him.

"You're in rare form tonight with that pleasant attitude," he commented.

"It's called sarcasm," she replied coldly with a rolling of her eyes.

"Loses a lot of the effect if you have to announce it," he smartly came back at her.

She nodded as her irritation increased. He was using her own words against her. It deepened her desire to show him up that night.

"I guess I should probably get going, then," she told him. "Since you don't know anything."

Alec made a dramatic gesture of her acknowledging his presence. "Oh, well, don't stop whatever you were planning on my account!" he told her, again thrusting her own words in her face. "It's not like you need to announce leaving."

Max frowned before turning to the door. "Fine!" she snapped before taking the opportunity to leave before he got suspicious again.

She made a point to frown as she left, but as soon as the door shut, a smile spread across her face again. _Enjoy your drink and relaxing shower, Alec! _she thought to herself mischievously. _Cuz when tonight's over, you won't have anything more to celebrate!_

* * *

**a/n**: So what do you think? I know it's ridiculous, and knowing me, that will only increase! but I'm hoping... in a good way? anyway, just let me know your thoughts, thanks! 


	2. Two Transgenics and a Policeboy

**Chapter 2: Two Transgenics and a Policeboy**

Max hadn't enjoyed breaking and entering this much in a while. Part of her felt guilty. Until the other part reminded her that the whole point in this was for the greater good of putting Alec in his place.

She tugged at the rope once just to double-check. As if she needed to. She had cat burglary down to an art form. But she had to admit, it had been a while.

Max effortlessly dove down from the top of the building to make her move. Her movements were graceful, in spite of the messy job she was going to have to do. Ripping off bad-guys while they were selling off human organs wasn't exactly the kind of heist that sent a thrilling rush up her spine. More like a creepy itchy feeling that she couldn't shake.

_But when Alec realizes I ruined his plan, it will more than make up for it! _she thought with a wide grin.

She blurred through the place as she searched for the object of her desires. It was even easier than normal, since she'd taken a thorough glance at the blueprints, courtesy of Alec.

_Awww, they practically gift-wrapped it for me!_ she thought with a smile as she noticed the safe. It was attached to the building, part of the structure itself. And being that the building was old, that meant that the safe was, too.

It was old-fashioned, meaning Max didn't even have to break into it. All she needed to do was listen for the 'click's. For a transgenic, it was like taking candy from a baby.

She leaned her head against the metal door and quickly spun the dial, listening for the magic sound.

_There!_ she thought as she recognized the first number and turned the dial in the other direction.

Two more 'click's later, she was helping herself to the sizable amount of cash that she felt no hesitation in taking. _Well, it's either me or Alec_, she told herself, justifying her actions.

Max crept over to the wall and started scaling it, preparing to leave, when her senses picked up on another presence.

She turned her eyes quickly to the sound, hoping to see Pretty Boy himself.

Unfortunately, she was staring at some goon. _Probably here to make a trade_, she thought, her eyes rolling in annoyance. _Is that what Alec was planning?_ she wondered.

_Well, I better introduce myself! _she decided with a grin, leaping from the wall.

But as soon as her feet were firmly planted on the ground, a blurring Alec came out of nowhere to knock the guy completely unconscious.

"You're 0 for 2," he told her as soon as the man slumped to the ground.

"What?" she asked with irritation.

"First you break into my apartment. Then I find you in the middle of a heist." He gave her a cocky grin and a look of pride, indicating he was impressed. "You're full of surprises tonight, Max."

"Who said I came here just for some fast cash?" she challenged him.

Alec let out a laugh as he tried to guess how she was going to talk her way out of this one. She had a trait that he'd somehow come to find amusement in. In a way that he didn't quite understand, it was cute, how worked up she became trying to justify her actions. Alec was sure that if he did the exact same thing, she'd go on a rampage about how wrong it was.

"I'm sorry," he replied, "Am I _imagining_ the bag in your hands that, coincidentally, has what appears to be the same amount of money shoved inside of it that _used _to be in that safe over there, that is also curiously _wide _open at the exact same moment that you just… _happen _to also be here?"

Max shrugged nonchalantly. "Stranger things have happened," she dismissed his comment, narrowing her eyes at him.

Alec eyed her with a grin, and in doing so, noted the form-fitting black pantsuit she was wearing, which did more than just compliment her curves, before continuing on as if she hadn't spoken. "…dressed for _some _kind of occasion, and I don't think it's anything that boyfriend of yours would approve of," he finished in his trademark way- with a compliment that was buried in an insult, topped off with his signature smirk.

"He's _not _my boyfriend!" Max insisted with irritation. Alec _knew _that it drove her crazy, having it thrust in her face like that. It wasn't like he cared, anyway. He just liked to make fun of Max in any way possible.

Max glared at him, considering his typical response. She rolled her eyes. _As if he could just let it go! _she thought angrily of her own attire. It was his fault, anyway. If only Alec could be a good little genetically engineered killing machine and sit at home twiddling his thumbs, which coincidentally, Max perceived to be a _much _more valuable use of his time, anyway. Then she wouldn't have to beat him in his dirty work, which would keep her out of this situation in the first place: standing in front of a thoroughly amused, and apparently visually satisfied, as she noted his appreciative stare (_ass!_), smirking Pretty Boy.

She wanted to point out how his own attire fit the occasion, before she realized that he wasn't wearing all black. In fact, he hardly looked dressed for a refreshing nightly heist. His worn jeans were loose-fitting, resting underneath a comfortable T-shirt. Max found herself wanting to scold him for, yet again, failing to show any concern to keep his cover. She scoffed in her mind as she assessed him. _God, Alec, you are such an idiot! _Aside from the leather jacket, he looked more casual than he did, even at Jam Pony.

Since she couldn't comment on his dress fitting the occasion, Max decided to go for the obvious. "Interesting that you want to talk about coincidences, Alec," she returned. "Because, now that you mention it, I seem to recall a certain set of blueprints that just _happened _to be laying around in your apartment. Blueprints that also, coincidentally, just _happened _to be for this exact location. So what brings you by on this particular evening anyway, Alec? Just… _happened _to be in the neighborhood and had the urge to knock some goon out?"

"I didn't know you cared so much about my nightly activities, Max," he returned smartly. "If you wanted to hang out together, I'm sure we could think of something fun to do!" He wiggled his brow at her as he finished with a deep grin.

Max snorted in reply. "First of all, I _don't _care about what you do at night. In fact, most of the time, I'd really rather you spared me the details. So don't be so quick to flatter yourself."

"You know, you're right, Max," he said in that annoying, less than serious voice of his. And he continued to mock her with clearly feigned concern. "I really shouldn't flatter myself… especially when everyone else does it for me!"

Max scoffed at his ever-present ego. "You really don't know when to quit, do you?"

Alec shrugged, suddenly appearing bored. "I'm sorry, where were you going with all this? I tend to tune you out sometimes. Did you already give me the lecture?"

Max slapped him upside the head.

Alec shot her a pained stare. "Ow!" he complained. "What was that for?"

"Listen, _ass_," she said to him as she pulled him toward her roughly to stare him in the face. "Enough with the smart remarks! Let's get this situation straight- I caught you. And don't try to talk your way out of this one. Like I said, I saw the blueprints at your place."

Max couldn't help grinning as she was _finally _staring at a speechless Alec for once. His lips parted in shock for a moment, before he recovered with a smirk. His hazel eyes shone with amusement. "You know, I _knew _you didn't just drop by for a nice chat with your buddy Alec! You planned this!"

"Bravo, Alec. Good to see you can still connect the dots. Now try this one on for size. What happens when you make a bet but someone beats you to the punch?"

He stared at her, again speechless for a moment at the random question.

"You lose," she told him, her face showing more satisfaction than he'd ever seen when directed at him.

Max didn't like the fact that he wasn't reacting. A nice, surprised 'how the hell did you know about the bet' or maybe 'Thanks, now tomorrow's gonna _suck_' would have been more than appropriate. But confused silence…?

"Earth to Alec!" she said, dramatically moving her hand in front of his face. "Did you hear what I just said? Your plan is ruined! You can forget about your 'prize' at work tomorrow!"

As she studied his face, she found herself getting confused. He was clearly trying to figure out the situation. It appeared that he didn't understand exactly what was going on.

"My plan?" he asked her finally, his eyes lit with an amused twinkle.

Max rolled her eyes. "Do I have to spell it out for you?" She let out an annoyed sigh. "Fine! Let me make this as easy for you to comprehend as possible. I found out about your little bet. I saw the blueprints, and I beat you to it! Which means you lose. Clear enough for you?"

Instead of being upset that she'd caught him, he had the nerve to deepen his smirk as he caught what she was saying. "Wow, Max," he said, acting impressed. He nudged her jokingly as he continued. "I didn't know you had it in you. So all I needed to do to get you to steal something was plan on stealing it myself?"

Max now parted her lips out of shock and a moment of speechlessness. _He's going to turn this on me?!_

"Alec!" she said finally, her aggressive tone letting on her determination. "This isn't about me, okay? This is about you and the fact that come tomorrow, whatever 'prize' you were _going _to get, is now out of your reach. You lost."

He only nodded in amusement, adding to her irritation. "So, it's not about you… even though you're the one standing here in the black suit holding the bag." He laughed to himself at her logic for a moment before opening his lips to say more. But he abruptly shut them as his sensitive ears picked up on the sound of approaching sirens. He immediately flashed her a serious look. "You tripped the alarm?" he asked her in shock.

Max glared at him. "It wasn't on your blueprints!" she blurted, trying to deny the responsibility of screwing up. But she knew the truth. It had just slipped her mind in how rushed she was to beat him to the punch. _Damnit!_, she cursed inwardly for her careless mistake.

"Oh, you're gonna put this on _me?_" he asked her. "You know," he added, a smirk back on his face, "if you're serious about thieving, you should stay sidelines for a couple jobs. See if you can learn how it's done." He flashed her a cocky grin as he finished.

She shoved him in response of his rude comment. The insult to her abilities, even if those dealing with breaking the law, sent a fury coursing through her. "I _know _how to pull a heist! If you weren't so careless in your plans, this never would have happened!"

Alec nodded, putting on a serious face, though she knew it was all in jest. He must have been getting a kick out of watching her try and deny messing up. _Ugh!_ she thought in annoyance.

"Please tell me you killed the security cameras," he replied to her, looking truly concerned.

For a split second, her brown eyes flashed in worry as she considered his statement. "The cameras?" she asked with a swallow. _I didn't see any cameras…_

He shook his head, putting on a show of true disappointment. "Max, tsk tsk. I can't believe you messed this up so bad."

Max glared at him as she noticed just how casual he was being. _That ass!_ she thought. _He's faking! _"There _are _no security cameras, are there?" she asked him in a demanding tone.

Alec laughed. "Well, if there were, you'd be pretty screwed, wouldn't you?"

"You are such an ass!" she told him as she shoved him again.

"It's always about my ass with you," he commented before smirking again. He looked to the door, clearly about to take off, before dramatically blowing her a kiss to bid her adieu. "We should do this again sometime!" he told her as he made a move to leave.

But Max sped up to cut him off. "Where do you think you're going?" she asked him.

He looked side to side and then back at her like she was crazy. "Uh, Max. The cops are coming. I'm pretty sure I don't wanna be here when that happens."

Max frowned at him. _Condescending jerk! _As if she didn't know that the cops were coming. "How come you're so casual about all of this?" she blurted at him, infuriated that he didn't seem phased in the slightest. She'd caught him – and _beat _him- at his game, and he wasn't acting any differently than normal.

Alec almost laughed out loud… before he realized that she was serious. "Max! Are you kidding?" When her only response was to continue glaring, he went on. "What do you want from me? Look, I don't know what happens to _you _when you lose a bet, since you're a girl, but as for me, I usually just move on to the next-"

"Woah! Woah!" Max held up her hand abruptly, successfully bringing his comment to a halt. "What was that bit? About being a _girl?_" Her eyes narrowed at him. "Care to repeat that, smart-ass?"

_Oh, shit_. Alec knew he was in for it. Not that he was ever too careful with Max (walking on eggshells around her did no good! He was deemed a pain in the ass no matter what he did!), but he normally at least caught himself before saying something that would obviously piss her off so much. Well… unless of course he _wanted _to piss her off… in which case, it wouldn't be that difficult given-

"Alec!" her irritated voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Wha…" he trailed as he noted just how close the sound of sirens were now. "Look, you can stay here and get all worked up if you want, Max. But _I _am going."

Max only deepened her glare at him, not moving from his path. She folded her arms at him. "Not so fast, Pretty Boy. What did you mean by that comment?" Max wasn't at all concerned that the cops were fast approaching. By now, she'd accepted that they probably were going to come in. _Too bad for them we're a couple of transgenics!_

It was a thought that gave her complete confidence in her actions. Maybe Alec didn't trust himself against the lousy Seattle P.D. But Max? She was more than sure that she could handle herself against Seattle's finest. Not to mention, she still had a score to settle regarding a certain baby (Ninja, baby – same thing!) of hers that the bastards had _kidnapped _a while back. Max disregarded the fact that, technically, in ripping them off, she'd already paid them back. That was just the junkyard, anyway. The cops still definitely had a thing or two coming-

"What?" Alec's confused question brought Max back to the situation. Finally, the fearless face that he normally held highly was slipping; the golden twinkling in his green eyes shone out of worry instead of their usual amusement.

As he stared at her determined face, he knew she really wasn't budging without an answer. She was too stubborn for her own good. It wasn't as if he couldn't escape in spite of her anyway.

But something in her fiery brown eyes demanded his response. _Fine!_

Alec shrugged casually before answering. "I was going to tell you that when I lose a bet, as rare as that circumstance is, I get over it. I move on to the next one. But you interrupted me before-"

"Oh, really?" Max asked, interrupting him again.

"Ah… now that was on purpose!" he complained as his sensitive ears picked up on the sound of the vehicles stopping right outside the building. They were down to seconds now.

"Max," he began, about to try and convince her one last time to finally accept that she needed to get out of there.

But she interrupted him, _again!_

"Save it, Pretty Boy!" she told him with one hand held up in protest of him continuing. "I told you that you couldn't talk your way out of this. What does it matter what _I _do when I lose a bet? Come to think of it, I've never really made a bet before… well, if you don't count that one time with Cindy. But that was cards, so I guess that makes it different-"

"Max!" Alec repeated, his voice somewhat exasperated. "Are you doing this on purpose? You know I could leave at any time!"

Before she could make a reply, the doors burst open, and a bright light shone upon both transgenics.

"Freeze!" a rough voice ordered at the pair.

For a moment, Max and Alec did just that.

* * *

**a/n**: hmm... So I noticed reading this over again that Max really is kind of annoying in this fic! I guess that is to be expected though, since she has her huge attitude from Season 1 and the anti-Alec feeling of the start of Season 2. This is me rambling, but was anyone else ever annoyed with how Max treated Alec in the show? There were times she was so ridiculous! I remember especially when she told Cindy Alec was completely annoying with his 'talking and breathing' and Cindy pointed out that Max has issues.

eh... sorry for the rambling. Anyway, I hope you liked this chap! Thanks for the reviews! there is a twist coming next chap...


	3. Cops and Robbers

**a/n:** huge thanks to all those who reviewed last chap! you people seriously rock! I loved your insights about the MA relationship, too. Very good points from everyone.

Now, this update should have come sooner, but I get distracted easily by shiny objects, story challenges, and of course Alec. And the angst bug bit me and wouldn't let me go until I wrote it all out of me. But I found my happy muse again for this one! So here goes, hope you enjoy:

* * *

**Chapter 3: Cops and Robbers**

"Get your hands where I can see them!" the rough voice ordered.

Max obediently held up her hands, giving Alec a mischievous look while her back was the only thing facing the men in blue.

Alec couldn't believe the sight in front of him. Max was wanting to have some fun with the cops. She'd been delaying him on purpose… in anticipation of knocking out a few policemen? Alec was really wishing he'd let her have the goon from earlier. If he'd known how badly she needed to beat on someone, he would have sacrificed the amusement it gave him in getting to the guy first.

Max turned slowly, grinning in anticipation of the shock she was about to personally deliver whatever gruff idiot was shining a light in her face.

As she focused beyond the glare of the light, she noted the obvious attraction the man holding the light found in her. _So predictable! _she thought with annoyance. She walked over slowly toward him, making sure to sway her hips as she moved.

"Stay where you are!" the man called hesitantly as she moved closer.

"Why?" Max challenged him playfully, "to keep the view?" She could have sworn that the comment caused a flush to come over the man's cheeks. _Pathetic! _she thought with mild amusement.

"Just… please remain still," the man asked again, his voice hesitant and the light twitching with his nerves. It seemed Max was quickly unraveling him.

"Imagine that!" Max told him sarcastically, though her words were coated in a sugary sweet voice that almost purred at him. "Suddenly you sound more friendly." She narrowed her eyes at him almost seductively. "You sure you want me to stay all the way over here?"

Alec stared in complete shock as Max continued to surprise him. He couldn't believe she was taking the moment to toy with the cop- not to mention, the last time he'd seen her hips sway like that, it was definitely not by her own choice. In fact, she'd given him hell for insisting she go undercover as part of the entertainment for the club they were staking out.

"That's enough!" another voice was heard as a second figure entered the room. "Area secured," he spoke into a radio.

Max rolled her eyes. This one clearly thought he was running the show. She wondered how much longer she'd let him think he had the situation handled and the area 'secured' before she ripped his sheltered little reality to shreds.

Kicking ass was basically her middle name. In fact, she was getting bored with being the eye candy. It was definitely time to return the gratitude of the fine gentlemen that had broken her taillight right in front of her on that cold night in July.

But as the cop came into the light, Max realized he wasn't just a cop. He was a detective.

And he wasn't just any detective.

"Detective Sung," the man said, flashing his badge in her face as a way of introducing himself.

Max stared in complete shock as the carefree feeling that had been running through her was chased away by a tight knot in her stomach. _Oh, my, God_. She stood frozen, hoping he wouldn't remember her.

_Right, Max. Like a _detective _is going to forget that little detail of meeting you!_

Max cursed inwardly at the truth in her self-deprecating thoughts.

Alec turned to Max, his face pleading her to do something. He knew they could easily still escape completely unscathed. And so did she. So what the hell was she waiting for?

Max looked worriedly into Alec's eyes before turning her sights again to Detective Sung. She swallowed, unable to find words, watching in slight horror as recognition spread across his face. He lost the stern 'cop' look and was suddenly staring at her wide-eyed, his expression soft and confused. "Max?" he asked in disbelief.

As the room fell silent amidst the confusion, one person still knew exactly where his voice was and he most definitely planned on using it. "You're on a first name basis, Max?" Alec asked her. "You do this kind of thing often?" He was rubbing it in her face, but he was also struck with true curiosity. How in the world would Max, the same Max who was constantly nagging him about keeping a low profile, have allowed herself to be so well-known to a leading detective in Seattle?

Max turned her face to his with a glare. "Shut up!" she snapped at him before Matt's voice brought her attention back to him.

At Alec's comment, Matt's attention quickly turned to the other transgenic. He withdrew his gun and aimed it at Alec. Though his sights were on Alec, he still spoke only to Max. "Max, are you all right? Do you know this guy?"

Alec flashed his cocky grin and took the opportunity to answer while Max was momentarily shocked (or maybe, 'mortified'?) into silence. "We had sort of a summer fling," Alec told the man before almost bursting out in laughter that there was still a gun steadily pointed at him. "Do you really think I'm just gonna let you shoot me?" he asked the man before smirking.

"Alec, don't!" Max said to him. She could tell that he was about to use his transgenic speed to escape, and knowing Alec, probably show off as well. "I told you to shut up!"

"Max…?" Matt asked one more time, chancing moving his sights away from the male suspect to look her in the eye. As he did so, he noticed that she was wearing a, well… an outfit he'd certainly never seen her wearing around Logan any time before. "What are you doing here?"

"I…," she began before trailing into silence again. _What am I supposed to say? _She couldn't take advantage of her transgenic skills to get herself out of this one. He knew Max Guevara, the 'special friend' of Logan Cale's. She couldn't jeopardize Logan, which left her speechless while her brain raced to somehow escape the sticky situation with everyone's cover remaining safely in place and unquestioned.

The worry that had been missing since the fear of being caught snooping in Alec's room earlier came back in full force as Max came to the conclusion that she had to keep her cover, as well as Logan's. Playtime was _definitely _over.

She quickly pulled a Manticore mask across her face as she grinned innocently at him, clearly embarrassed. "Oh, Matt! I was just looking into something for Logan. What are _you _doing here?" She put on the best ditz face she could muster. _Maybe if I play stupid…_ she hoped.

Alec was once again staring at Max, completely shocked. _Matt?!_ He didn't realize Max was so well-acquainted with the law enforcement of Seattle. The way she addressed him, it was like the guy was a former flame.

And Logan? Why had she mentioned him? Alec was frustrated that he was left only to guess at what the connection was between Max and 'Matt'. But it seemed she didn't want to give away that Alec could easily escape the path of his gun, or that in the blink of an eye, the two could disappear.

Matt eyed her suspiciously. "Logan is interested in this place?" he asked.

Max smiled as wide as she possibly could. "Eyes Only got a tip," she tried to explain, "and, well… I wanted to help!" She finished with a full-toothed grin.

"Does Logan know you're here?" Matt asked.

"Hey, do you mind getting that gun off of me?" Alec interrupted. _If I'm not allowed to unarm him myself, the least Max could do is talk her good buddy Matt into holding his fire!_

The grin stretched across Max's face flinched at Alec's comment. She rolled her eyes at him before locking her stare into his. Her stare silently warned him one last time to be quiet.

Alec almost cringed as his hazel eyes locked with hers. The look that he was staring into was near desperation. Something was definitely not right about this cop.

"Logan doesn't have a clue," Alec decided to break the silence again. "As usual," he added with a smirk. His eyes narrowed at the gun that was still pointed at him. "Come on, Matt, is it? We're all friends here, right?"

Alec was answered in unison as Matt refused by simply saying, "No," at the same time that Max snapped, "No!"

"Hey, thanks, Max," Alec said with a slight frown. "I thought I meant more to you than that," he feigned being hurt.

"Shut up!" he was answered in unison again.

"He's… my partner," Max tried to explain to Matt before she realized how vague that answer was. "I mean, to the mission… of Logan's...for Eyes Only, that is."

Alec couldn't help grinning at her immediate answer. He figured Max would introduce him to others as 'some idiot', but 'partner' indicated much more than that. _Especially if you put some descriptive words in front of that… like 'breeding'… 'bed'… 'life'…_ Alec thought with a mischievous smile.

Alec once again let his eyes roam over Max's complimenting attire. She really knew how to grab a man's attention…

It was as if Max could read his thoughts, because she was suddenly giving him her death glare. _Get it together, soldier!_ Alec forced his distracting thoughts aside. Another thought crept in anyway. _When did she start being able to read me so well?_

Max wanted to slap Alec for the satisfaction the asshole was getting out of all of this. She wanted to slap Matt for being so detective-like in not buying her story and letting them go. But most of all, she wanted to slap herself for losing her cool so easily. _Get it together, soldier! _She tried to get her head back in the game, but the unexpected, and unwelcome, addition to her plan of foiling Alec's scheme left her feeling uncomfortable and her mind racing with worry at the possible outcomes.

"Logan planned this?" Matt asked, breaking through her thoughts.

"He-" Max began.

But Alec wasn't going to let her make the situation any more worse than it already was. She was no longer in the mindset of a soldier. Her confidence was unfaltering and unquestionable to the human eye. But Alec knew by now when Max was being natural and when she wasn't. He tried to save her from putting her foot in her mouth again, and took a shot at getting them out of the mess. "Look, we're not gonna tell you anything right now."

Max and Matt both stared at Alec in disbelief as he went on. "We're not under arrest, you haven't read us our rights… So why don't we all go our separate ways and forget this ever happened?"

"You know, you're right," Matt surprised the transgenics by agreeing.

Alec nodded with pride. "Yes, I am!" He made a move to leave, but was frozen in place as his eyes lit with surprise at the shiny light reflecting off a certain metal object that Matt suddenly pulled out of his pocket.

The detective's stare was stern again as he held out the pair of handcuffs. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

Alec for once wasn't quite sure what to say. "You're kidding, right?" _I thought this guy was a friend to Max… What the hell is he doing?_

"You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you." Matt's face was unreadable as he placed the metal restraint over Alec's wrist.

Max looked from Alec's hand that was being cuffed back to Matt. "Matt, come on, you can't be serious! We were just checking it out!"

"Max, could you please hold out your hand? I don't want to make this any more difficult on you."

"Aw..,. that's so sweet of you," Alec drawled sarcastically. _Anything to keep Max's focus on being pissed at me instead of worrying._

But Max was too shaken by the entire situation to complain about Alec. Instead, her eyes were only on Matt, widening at his words. "You're cuffing me…? To _him_?"

"I'm sorry, Max. It's out of my hands. I have a job to do, standard protocol. If what you're saying is true, this will all be cleared up very soon. But for now, I have to take you in."

Max didn't fight him as he took her right hand and cuffed it with Alec's. She was silenced with disbelief. _This can't be happening!_

Alec was just as surprised as Max with the abrupt arrest. Under different circumstances, he certainly wouldn't mind being handcuffed to Max. But being arrested was certainly not involved in any of those... different circumstances.

Matt motioned for them to walk toward the door. "Don't worry, Max. You'll probably be released before morning."

"I'm not worried," she told him with a confident, couldn't-care-less, smile.

Alec would've believed her, had his skin not been brushed against hers. Because now that he could feel her every tension, he knew there was no questioning it. She was most definitely worried.

---------------------------------------------

The ride to the station was silent. Disturbingly silent, given that Alec knew Max's head was probably ready to explode right about now. He considered making a rude comment just to distract her, but found he couldn't come up with anything. He was too overwhelmed with the desire to comfort and protect her. In her troubled silence, he'd found that his own voice abandoned him.

_I can't believe I didn't just leave_. Alec silently scolded himself for not taking off. She would have followed, anyway. And then they wouldn't be enjoying a ride in the back of a police car.

But instead, he'd stayed around to toy with her some more. It brought him immeasurable satisfaction, pushing the right buttons, anticipating and watching her reactions.

Max never would have been so careless if he hadn't pushed her so much. _I went too far this time_, he decided.

Finally, he had Max all to himself. How many times had he wondered if it would ever be like this, close enough to be coated in her intoxicating scent and feel her heart beat against him?

But he didn't see anything pleasing about their current situation.

Maybe Max could take an entire ride in silence, but the longer it went on, the more he realized he needed to break it, for his own sanity. "So, who wants to play cops and robbers?" he blurted with a smirk.

_-------------------------------------_

Max was silently beating herself up over every stupid mistake she'd made that day. Going to Alec's in the first place was a bad idea. She'd blamed it on the cat DNA, but she knew there was something more. Another thought she didn't want to think about.

Ignoring Logan's page was a stupid mistake. If she'd answered, maybe she wouldn't be riding in the back of a police car.

Tripping the alarm, wasting time to wage a verbal war against Alec that somehow brought a twisted satisfaction to her. Enjoying his confusion, dancing around the first policeman…

_You are such an idiot, Max! _she told herself.

The worst part about the arrest had to have been when Matt's eyes fell upon the bag laying on the ground behind Max.

"_Max, will you please follow Officer Davis to the squad car."_

And that was when he'd noticed it. She'd watched in silent horror as his eyes moved from her eye level to the ground. Talk about getting caught red-handed.

"Who wants to play cops and robbers?" Alec's voice broke Max out of her thoughts.

_Scratch that, _Max quickly thought to herself, Alec _is the idiot. _"Shut up," she snapped at him.

"So… that's a no?" Alec continued.

Max rolled her eyes before letting out a sigh of frustration. "Would it _kill _you to just keep your mouth shut for once?"

"Yes, actually," Alec replied. "Hey, I gave you a good 5 minutes of contemplation there." He paused before speaking quiet enough that only Max could hear him, "Besides, I already know what you were thinking about. And your buddy Matt was right- you've got nothin' to worry about. Logan'll get us out of this. He always does."

"I don't want Logan to know about this!" Max breathed.

"Max… we wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for Logan."

"Explain that to me," Max argued, "'Cuz I coulda sworn that _you _are the idiot who had the blueprints to the place."

"Yeah, but come on, Max. You have to admit it- if that guy didn't know Logan, you would've knocked him out in less than a second and gotten away just fine, with time to enjoy all that money."

Max frowned in defeat. _Damnit, I hate it when he's right!_

"Coincidentally, what were you planning on doing with that amount of cash?" Alec asked.

"Buying a nice tombstone with your name on it," Max answered immediately.

Before Alec could make a comment about the not-so-subtle death threat, Max continued more seriously. "What the hell are we supposed to do now? I really don't want Logan to be involved in this."

"He already is," Alec pointed out. "Your detective friend knows him. There's nothin' you can do about that now."

Max grimaced slightly as she realized that she was totally screwed.

"But hey! Look on the bright side," Alec went on, "Now you've got a couple hours to kill… handcuffed to me. Got any ideas?" His brow wiggled suggestively as he finished.

Max glared back at him. "A couple hours stuck to you? There's a few things I could think of to pass the time… all of which involving you and serious pain."

"So you're into the kinky stuff," Alec joked.

Max reached up to slap him, but was especially slow in the delivery this time, weighed down by the extra resistance of having Alec's arm attached to hers.

"Ah, ah…," Alec said as his free hand slid over her wrist as it neared his face. "Why don't you save that energy for later, when we're alone in a cell together."

The image of being trapped in a cell with Alec while handcuffed to him filled Max's mind.

"I think I'd rather play cops and robbers…," she said in defeat as she realized that this day really could get worse.

* * *

**a/n**: thanks to all for reading! see you next chap... 


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